YouTube is taking gaming content on its platform to another
level by designing a whole dedicated section where users can actually play
games directly. The feature, which is currently being tested with users, is
called ‘Playables,’ available on YouTube on both desktop and mobile versions. The
section is currently available to a select number of users, displayed on their home
feed alongside other content.
The development of this feature was first reported back in
June, although there isn’t much information revealed about the games included in
it. One of the rumoured titles is called Stack Bounce, which has a simple
gameplay. There will, however, likely be relatively complex games too, the
probability of which is indicated by the option to save gaming progress.
Additionally, users will be able to view and control their Playables
history and saved game progress within the History tab.
YouTube games may be a big hit, considering that the
platform is already pretty invested in the promotion of gaming content in the
form of streaming. According to insights from 2022, people spent over 4 billion
hours watching gaming videos on YouTube.
Then again, there is also likelihood that the feature might
not perform too well on a platform that is primarily for watching videos, like how
Netflix failed to get success out of its mobile games integration. Regardless
of the outcome, it will be interesting to see how YouTube users respond to the
feature.
